McMaster sports teams, including field hockey, women's curling, men's baseball and fencing among others, fundraise to offset team travel costs and upgrade equipment
First announced on Nov. 23., the McMaster University Athletics and Recreation Department advertised an annual event called Giving Tuesday to fundraise for U Sports, Ontario University Athletics and club teams.
In order to raise funds for teams, the department has urged McMaster alumni, members of the community and university sports fans to pitch in and donate to teams.
Prior to the event, each of the Marauders sports teams identified a fundraising goal they hoped to earn through donors. Some teams had high aims, such as men's volleyball and football who aimed to fundraise $5,000, while others such as women's field hockey aimed to fundraise $300.
Participating teams also posted their reasons for fundraising and what they hoped to accomplish with their donations. Numerous OUA teams looked to offset travel costs, such as field hockey, women's curling and figure skating. Several teams also wanted funding for upgrades to equipment, including men's baseball, fencing and Nordic skiing.
Numerous OUA teams looked to offset travel costs, such as field hockey, women's curling and figure skating.
As Giving Tuesday kicked off on Nov. 28., many student athletes took to social media to garner support and awareness toward their cause. Many Marauders reposted an image by McMaster Sports on Instagram to urge the community to donate.
The event ended successfully with an overall fundraising total of $101,655.22 provided by 667 different donors. In addition to base funding, McMaster Athletics and Recreation awarded prizes for reaching certain donation amounts and donor goals.
The event ended successfully with an overall fundraising total of $101,655.22 provided by 667 different donors.
The department gave an extra $500 to teams that reached $1,000 in funding, the team that had the most donors and the team with the highest donation amount. The women's soccer team was able to capture the most donors while the men's water polo team was received the highest donation amount.
The hope is that this funding will help all teams involved in Giving Tuesday to achieve their set of goals and support athletes for the upcoming season.
Students and athletes participate in Marathon of Sport event to raise money for the Special Olympics programs
A non-profit organization, motionball was founded in 2002 by brothers Paul, Mark and Sean Etherington in support of the Special Olympics movement. Through both social and sporting events, motionball helps raise funds for the Special Olympics Canada Foundation and their goal of enhancing the well-being of individuals with intellectual disabilities through sport.
Headed by event directors Emily Van Berkel and Gurleen Sandhu, the Marathon of Sport gave members within the McMaster University community an opportunity to engage with Special Olympic athletes. The day marked the sixth time that McMaster has been able to host a Marathon of Sport and the first time the event has ran in-person since the start of the pandemic.
“Both of us had only ever attended or been a part of the online events these past three years. . . I’ve never been to any in-person [Marathons of Sport] before the one we had [on March 18], so that was really exciting to finally have it back in-person,” said Sandhu.
Throughout the event, teams were able to take part in a variety of games and activities, including soccer, bocce ball, bench ball and seated balloon volleyball. Competing in these sports allowed for a fun and collaborative athletic experience for teams to promote fundraising and awareness for Special Olympic athletes and organizations.
“I was talking with some parents at our event and they were just saying how incredible it is that their children or their grandchildren have the space to come and participate with university students. . . It’s like a soul-filling, energy-giving day and it’s awesome,” explained Van Berkel.
“I was talking with some parents at our event and they were just saying how incredible it is that their children or their grandchildren have the space to come and participate with university students. . . It’s like a soul-filling, energy-giving day and it’s awesome,”
Emily Van Berkel, Marathon of Sport Event Director
Direct donations were made to support athletes through their motionball sponsorship page for participating universities and teams on the Marathon of Sport leaderboard. Along with their other team members, Van Berkel and Sandhu have helped to raise $3753 for their Executive Committee motionball team at McMaster and over $8000 at the event overall.
Of the donations raised for each Marathon of Sport hosted at participating universities and local chapters, motionball allocates 70 per cent of the funds to Special Olympics Ontario and programs for local community athletes.
A quarter of the donations are sent directly to the Special Olympics Canada Foundation while 5 per cent is directed towards the #NoGoodWay campaign to eliminate the use of the “r-word” in everyday conversation.
“When you actually go to the event in-person, you meet all the athletes. You get a better sense of what you’re really donating to, where your money is going, the people that it’s really affecting. . . A lot of people end up donating after the event is over as well,” said Sandhu.
“When you actually go to the event in-person, you meet all the athletes. You get a better sense of what you’re really donating to, where your money is going, the people that it’s really affecting. . . A lot of people end up donating after the event is over as well,”
Gurleen Sandhu, Marathon of Sport Event Director
For those who were unable to take part in the event, motionball Hamilton will be hosting a Marathon of Sport on Jun. 24, 2023 at Hillfield Strathallan College. Participants can register as either a Corporate Team with their participating organization’s employees or a Standard Team and will be partnered with one to two Special Olympic athletes on the day of the event.
With chapters across 18 Canadian cities and 35 university campuses, motionball provides multiple opportunities for interested individuals to become involved as organizing committee members or volunteers at their events.
Julio Diaz is a Multimedia Assistant at the Silhouette.
The Silhouette: Please introduce yourself.
Julio Diaz: I’m Julio Diaz. I’m a second-year health sciences student.
You’re a member of CANFAR. Can you tell us what that is?
CANFAR at McMaster [University] is a chapter of a larger organization called CANFAR. It stands for the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research. We raise money for HIV/AIDS research through fundraisers. They also provide bursaries for [graduate students] who are doing research. With that comes a lot of advocacy. At the university level, we find different ways to educate people about what HIV is as a virus but also as a social phenomenon. Generally, to do that, we look more at how HIV presents itself in 2023 rather than where it began.
What do you do?
I am public relations for CANFAR. Art is very important to me; it’s a way that I teach people about HIV through a lens that I enjoy. That means making graphics for CANFAR like designing their logo and the website. I do that with another person, Izma. Our goal is to make sure that we present information about HIV to the public in a way that is accurate, well thought out and considerate of student identities.
Could you elaborate on the focus on the presence of HIV/AIDS in 2023 rather than its past?
The way I see it is what is happening now with HIV is different from what it was before. In the 1980s, it was a lot more stigmatized. It was more of an issue that people see with homosexual men, which really meant men who have sex with men. However, there were other demographics in the 1980s that were heavily affected by it like intravenous drug users and sex workers. As we get to 2023, we see that the people affected are very diverse . . . It's recognizing that other demographics have always existed and beginning to focus attention on them. It's about making sure that everyone gets the information that they need, knows the best ways to prevent the chance of transmission and steps to take if they are at risk.
As we get to 2023, we see that the people affected are very diverse . . . It's recognizing that other demographics have always existed and beginning to focus attention on them. It's about making sure that everyone gets the information that they need, knows the best ways to prevent the chance of transmission and steps to take if they are at risk.
Julio Diaz, Public Relations, CANFAR McMaster
What are the goals that CANFAR has for the future?
We want to get self-testing kits out to the hands of the people at the university. It's a part of a research study that CANFAR is involved with and it would make testing a lot more accessible. Literature that I've read shows that self-testing can reduce stigma, specifically in young men who have sex with men when it comes to HIV and in pursuing preventative measures like pre-exposure prophylaxis, a medication taken to prevent the spread of HIV. Right now, the other focus is on creating awesome events that people want to come to where we help spread accurate, up-to-date information about the virus. We're also going to continue hosting fundraisers and we have an upcoming research symposium which is a great opportunity to learn about where the research is now.
What inspired you to join CANFAR?
I was reading memoirs and educational literature about HIV and how it had impacted the queer community. It's a very large issue as queer people have been targeted violently and that still resonates today with homophobia, transphobia and other forms of discrimination against the LGBTQ community. In reading about that, I knew that I wanted to get involved in some way at McMaster with HIV — that's when I found CANFAR. It's been a perfect fit for me in terms of fulfilling a lot of those desires I had when I was reading those memoirs and being emotionally impacted by the stories of gay men in their short time here.
What would you like to see in the future of CANFAR?
A change that I would love to see is to talk more about sex. It's still a huge mode of transmission, specifically sex between men. That is still a huge demographic impacted here . . . People are quick to think that this is an issue of the past. Because men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users and others are in the McMaster community, it's important to me that they know that this is still an issue that we need to be thinking about and take steps to protect ourselves. I just want to share what's out there so that people can take those steps. It's important to not dismiss the fact that, though we have made strides forward, it still impacts people here.
Mac Athletes Care raise over $5,400 for the Juravinski Cancer Center
Each year at McMaster University, many athletes from different sports around the school unite to strengthen the athletic charitable efforts with Mac Athletes Care.
This past week, their objective was to help promote awareness and fundraise for the Think Pink initiative — an annual project surrounding the battle against breast cancer.
Briana Da Silva, a field hockey player and member of Mac Athletes Care who has been active in the Think Pink initiative, spoke about the organization.
“The Think Pink campaign is all about raising funds and spreading awareness around breast cancer. In some way or another cancer has impacted all of us and it is beyond important for us to do what we can. Typically Think Pink would have a wide range of running events, from bake sales and raffles to spikeball tournaments and shoot for the cure,” said Da Silva.
The COVID-19 pandemic has cast difficult times on many during the pandemic. Many organizations inside and outside of McMaster had to undergo serious change in order to keep running successful operations.
In wake of the pandemic, the Think Pinkinitiative looks much different than in previous years. In-person event programming has become a well-known fixture of Think Pink week. However due to limitations brought by COVID-19, this had to change.
“Since we cannot fundraise or have in-person events, we had to switch everything completely virtual. This limited the options of events we could host and online engagement tends to be lower than in person,” added Da Silva.
“Since we cannot fundraise or have in-person events, we had to switch everything completely virtual. This limited the options of events we could host and online engagement tends to be lower than in person,” added Da Silva.
Megh Rathod, a men’s rugby player and active participant in the annual event, discussed some of the hardships the organization has undergone recently, with the pandemic being one of two tragic events to have happened to Mac Athletes Care.
“It’s been a challenge as well because we don’t really have a staff sponsor or supervisor this year. . . The second challenge is what can we do in terms of the initiative. Usually, we rely on people being able to spare a couple dollars at the David Braley Athletic Centre, but we realized that with COVID, money might be a bit more of a constraint and it would be more difficult to get one or two dollar donations through an online platform,” said Rathod.
As such, the Mac Athletes Care team realized that an information campaign was more suited for this year, given the initiative being run online.
“We built an awareness campaign. That was something that we didn’t really cover much in the past. This year we shifted information to be more when you should get screened, or who should be concerned, breast cancer and its prevalence and some statistics to inform individuals and begin that conversation. It was a new addition this year that we hope to carry forward . . . Last year we were really successful in raising $5,400, usually because we can really take advantage of DBAC and the facilities and the in-person traffic and we usually set up tables there over the week,” said Rathod.
MAC Athletes Care & the McMaster Women's Basketball team are joining forces Feb 1-7 for 'Think Pink' + 'Shoot For The Cure' week in support of the Juravinski Hospital & Cancer Centre and the Canadian Cancer Society
As effective and important as awareness can be, the club understands the importance of raising funds to put towards the Juravinski Cancer Center and has continued to attempt fundraising.
“With things looking a little differently this year, we are selling masks and t-shirts through the campus store and the proceeds will go towards Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre Foundation. On our Instagram page, we have some neat infographics and there is also the virtual “shoot for the cure” happening as well,” said Da Silva.
Cancer is a hard fought battle that many have unfortunately lost to and although individual efforts might not be enough to cure the vicious disease, each contribution makes a difference, taking a step closer to the end goal.
The ongoing pandemic has made things more difficult for the Think Pink initiative, but Mac Athletes Care hasn’t given up and is ready to keep battling this together.
National Society of Black Engineers increases representation and supports for Black students in academia
Addressing anti-Black racism has been an urgent need for increased equity for Black students and professionals across academia, especially in traditionally white male dominated fields like engineering.
All incoming first-years who self-identify as Black students, demonstrate strong leadership and have positively contributed to their community will be eligible for the award. The scholarship will provide each recipient with $2,500, along with a position on the NSBE executive team.
All incoming first-years who self-identify as Black students, demonstrate strong leadership and have positively contributed to their community will be eligible for the award.
The NSBE is a national student-run organization that aims to increase the number of Black engineers who excel both academically and professionally, while demonstrating valuable leadership to make a difference in their community. The NSBE team also includes other engineering graduates and professionals.
Founded in 1971, the society has over 31,000 members that span over 600 active chapters in Canada, the United States and other countries around the globe. They provide academic excellence programs, social connections, leadership opportunities, additional scholarships and career networking to support Black students in engineering.
The McMaster chapter is spear-headed by an executive team of McMaster engineering students. The current president is Feyisayo Enuiyin, a chemical engineering student in her final year. The chapter’s aim is to provide Black students with academic support, professional development and networking opportunities.
[/media-credit] NSBE McMaster Chapter President Feyisayo Enuiyin
“For many Black students from underprivileged communities, they don’t think engineering is a space for them,”said Enuiyin. “This scholarship was created for students who didn’t even know they wanted to study engineering. It creates hope for students to show they are going to a school that supports them.”
“For many Black students from underprivileged communities, they don’t think engineering is a space for them,”said Enuiyin.
The NSBE McMaster Chapter’s goal is to raise $62,500 for the award. The number of scholarships will be dependent on the funds raised. If they exceed their goal, they will provide more scholarships. They are currently accepting donations, with hopes that this award will inspire and encourage more Black students to apply to McMaster Engineering.
Enuiyin explained that the scholarship aims to provide more than financial assistance — the award will also create a larger scale for representation, further showing Black students that institutions like McMaster actually care about them.
“Once I was able to feel that McMaster, including the staff and faculty, really supports me, it made me feel more confident because I know that I go to a community that has my back,” said Enuiyin.
“Once I was able to feel that McMaster, including the staff and faculty, really supports me, it made me feel more confident because I know that I go to a community that has my back,” said Enuiyin.
To Enuiyin, this representation within the university at large, especially in academia, is important because it creates confidence.
“It creates a sense of self awareness so that when you step into a place and you see people like you doing what you aspire to do, it gives you encouragement and motivation to know that you can do that too… When you feel represented in a space, like in an atmosphere of a room, you don't think about complexion. It doesn't even cross your head,” said Enuiyin.
"When you feel represented in a space, like in an atmosphere of a room, you don't think about complexion. It doesn't even cross your head,” said Enuiyin.
Enuiyin expressed gratitude towards the Faculty of Engineering for supporting the NSBE McMaster Chapter and said that the scholarship is a step in the right direction.
“[The scholarship] will help us move towards a more inclusive environment where a range of perspectives leads to better insights and innovation,” stated Professor Iswhar K. Puri, dean of engineering, in a McMaster Daily News Article.
These fellowships will provide Indigenous and Black recipients of the award each with $25,000 over the span of four years to support them with their graduate studies and engineering research.
Similar to the NSBE scholarship, the IBET doctoral fellowships were launched with the hope to reduce the financial barriers experienced by Black and Indigenous students.
These efforts for inclusion are paired with McMaster’s announcement of a new commitment to Black academic excellence, such as the commitment to hire a cohort of up to 12 Black faculty members. This is the first initiative under the new Strategic Equity and Excellence Recruitment and Retention program, which is part of McMaster’s larger equity, diversity and inclusion strategy.
“It’s not just about being Black or being in engineering. It’s bigger than that… It’s about people. When one individual progresses, the whole community progresses,” said Enuiyin.
Other efforts at McMaster include the development of a yearly bursary of $800 in perpetuity for Black students with financial need in the McMaster Health Sciences program. The bursary organizers include McMaster University and Mohawk College alumni and are currently also fundraising.
When asked what else academic institutions can do to alleviate barriers for Black students, Enuiyin highlighted the importance of outreach programs along with financial assistance. These outreach programs should be delivered in underprivileged communities, especially for high school students.
“When students are already in universities, it is hard to change their perspectives. [By starting in high school], you can start to show them options as to what they have,” explained Enuiyin.
When discussing how McMaster community members should view this scholarship, Enuiyin highlighted its importance on our society as a whole.
“It’s not just about being Black or being in engineering. It’s bigger than that… It’s about people. When one individual progresses, the whole community progresses,” said Enuiyin.
Donations for the scholarship funds are currently being accepted on the NSBE McMaster’s iFundMac website.
Photo from Silhouette Photo Archives
By: Adriana Skaljin
For the past five years, the McMaster men’s rugby team has been running their own Movember campaign, raising money for men’s health initiatives. Last year, the team collectively raised around $6,100, motivating them to increase their goal for 2018 to $7,000.
The Movember Foundation is the leading charity that focuses on men’s health. They focus on issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention. This initiative was started in 2003 and has funded more than 1,200 men’s health projects worldwide.
[spacer height="20px"]Callum MacLeay, a fifth-year kinesiology student, is leading this year’s Movember campaign. As the club captain on the rugby leadership team, it was his responsibility to take over the Movember initiative, since the club captain is involved with coordinating any off-field fundraising and team bonding. MacLeay has raised over $1,400 since 2015 and has set a personal goal of $1,000 for this year.
“Seeing as last year’s goal was $6,000 and this year’s is $7,000, it would be awesome to reach the realm of raising $10,000,” said MacLeay.
MacLeay has been participating in Movember for four years now and was inspired by the fact that his grandfather had prostate cancer.
“[This] made [Movember] something easy to engage with because it was something that I personally connected to,” said MacLeay.
Seeing as Movember raises money for men’s health, it is something that connects and affects everyone on the men’s rugby team. This creates a sense of motivation towards making a difference in this area of charitable work.
“[Movember] has ranged to a new focus on mental health, which is a big push that made us want go support [this initiative],” MacLeay explained.
When they first started the campaign, they had around 20 players participating; they now have around 50. This increase in participants shows an increase in support, thus bringing awareness to this initiative’s importance.
“On the field, we come together to achieve a common goal, but to have the camaraderie that comes with a community sense is great, and it is nice to see the newer players join [in helping with Movember],” said MacLeay. “The more you bring awareness, the more people want to get involved. This is due to a sense of empowerment.”
What comes with this sense of empowerment is the understanding that no one is alone and that we are all going through things. With focuses on issues such as mental health, we can remove stigmas and transition into a world that disallows people from suffering in silence.
Not only has the men’s rugby team worked towards removing stigmas and promoting men’s health, but they have banded together with other Marauders as well.
“Men’s volleyball, basketball, baseball, and football have joined us in our Movember initiative here at McMaster,” said MacLeay.
“Movember has been a meaningful experience for me since we get to engage with coaches, alumni, and student field therapists in the fundraising, so it [goes beyond] the players. Having everyone come together on something that is bigger than rugby is important, and I think that it helps build camaraderie both on and off of the field.”
On Nov. 29 and 30, the men’s rugby team will be setting up an information table in the David Braley Athletic Centre on campus. They will be selling t-shirts, wrist bands and will be holding a raffle as well. All proceeds will go towards their Movember campaign.
It is without a doubt that the amazing efforts of the McMaster men’s rugby team are instrumental in changing the ways in which we view men’s health, while sparking a conversation around mental health. Change is possible, with some Marauder spirit, camaraderie and a sense of empowerment.
In attending events on gentrification, Angela Orasch realized that the conversations on this issue were happening in several discrete places. The McMaster University political science PhD candidate decided to plan an event to bring the different groups together in hopes of creating a network to mitigate the negative effects of gentrification.
The result was the Gathering on Art, Gentrification and Economic Development, funded by The Socrates Project and McMaster University’s Office of Community Engagement. The free public forum, open to all interested individuals, took place from Nov. 9 to Nov. 10 at The Spice Factory.
On Nov. 8, a door by donation kick-off party occurred at This Ain’t Hollywood, featuring performances by Lal, Lee Reed and Cheko Salaam. All proceeds went to the Tenant Turn-Up fundraising tour, a mini-tour connecting the housing struggles of Stoney Creek Towers in Hamilton, Parkdale in Toronto and Herongate in Ottawa.
The two-day forum consisted of a mixture of performances, panels and workshops, allowing individuals to both speak to their personal experiences and share strategies to work against the pitfalls of gentrification.
“We wanted to have varied programming… so [people] could learn differently through different means and be engaged in the process…. I think it was just a way to avoid the standard almost academic style of conference… it just didn't feel right for the collaborative spirit of what we wanted GAGED to be,” Orasch explained.
The programming was designed to bring multiple perspectives into the same space so individuals could ask questions to and learn from one another. There were contributions by frontline workers, individuals discussing LGBTQ2S+ concerns regarding gentrification, the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, COBRA and the Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Network, among others.
The participants discussed a wide range of topics, such as the role of art in the economic development of Hamilton, what gentrification means for Hamilton’s Indigenous community, the role of McMaster University in the gentrification process, the service industry and gentrification and the perspective of new Hamiltonians.
“I think ideally if we can build bridges and capacity between groups to start challenging some of the negative stuff that's happening… that would be a great takeaway. [By] connecting and networking with various groups… there might be some room for… mutual interest and mutual goals,” Orasch said.
The goal of GAGED was to produce a report of actionable items and best practices models that will be made available to the public and distributed to City Hall, McMaster University, arts organizations and community groups.
However, this forum is only the first step in what Orasch would like to do about tackling gentrification. As with any multi-faceted and unfolding issue, it is impossible for the negative effects of gentrification to be alleviated overnight.
Orasch would like to see GAGED continue into the future, becoming a hub to connect different affected individuals and groups. She would like to see a team associated with GAGED that can continue organizing events, lobbying and creating publications and policy briefs to tackle this ongoing issue in a sustained way. Looking further into the future, Orasch would like to see the work of GAGED extend to other cities.
“I guess one thing is that it's not just gentrification… but it's a broader economic system that's unfair, inherently unfair, and gentrification is just… one way in which the economic system unfolds in cities. But maybe because it's a cohesive concept it's a good one to latch on to it and create an activism around,” Orasch said.
GAGED could become a model for other cities seeking to confront gentrification. It could also evolve into an inter-municipal forum, uniting the strategies, ideas and expertise of groups affected by gentrification in different cities. GAGED is part of the first step in creating an increasingly cohesive strategy.
If you have been at McMaster over the last few years, you may have seen pictures of varsity athletes rocking pink tutus floating around on social media or at the front desk of the gym.
These photos are in promotion of the Mac Athletes Care breast cancer fundraiser. Every January, Mac athletes put together a number of activities in order to raise money for breast cancer research. Although we still have a few more months before the event kicks off, we went behind the scenes at one of the iconic photoshoots and caught up with rugby player, Ontario University Athletics Shiels Division Community Service Award winner, AND event coordinator Mackenzie Wiens to see what Mac Athlete Care has in store for Think Pink.
The Silhouette: How do you plan on getting athletes and students more involved?
Mackenzie: We have always had great involvement from athletes! Leading up to the fundraiser [Jan. 7-12] athletes can sign up to volunteer at the Think Pink Table. This year we are trying to increase our social media presence to ultimately improve our online fundraising efforts. We have been able to meet with 16 teams and are so excited to have their support.
What fundraising initiatives can we look forward to seeing this year?
M: We will have our raffle table (where we are currently looking for donations) and t-shirt sales every day as well as at the varsity games. New this year is a spike ball tournament on Friday, Jan. 11, which will have a great prize for the winning team!
Goals for think pink this year?
M: Last year, we raised $10,000. This may be bold, but were hoping to raise $15,000 this year!
It’s not enough to want to do good, at some point you have to do good! I’m so happy that this year, all the funds will be used to support and fund breast cancer research in Hamilton — by investigators who work at Hamilton Health Science Juravinski Cancer Center & McMaster University!
Photo from Silhouette Photo Archives
[spacer height="20px"]For more inquiries or if you would like to donate, email [email protected]. Also follow @mcmastersports to follow along with their fundraising efforts or to see some awesome photos of your favourite student-athletes rocking pink tutus for a good cause.
They’ve been with us since grade school and seem to follow us everywhere. Everything needs money, it seems.
Of course it does. People need resources and sometimes our social programs fail us. Sometimes it’s not our social programs: it’s a country on another continent, a school that needs rebuilding, a non-profit that needs help with its efforts to help.
The fundraiser I remember most vividly is one that happened in the ninth grade. I remember my homeroom teacher asking everyone to donate some money or food items for the local food bank. The class was small, we all knew who had donated and who hadn’t. There was pressure that came with “being a good person”. I didn’t like it. I donated anyway. Of course I did. I was a good person, after all.
The whole thing, I thought, was pretty ironic. Many of the families at our high school were poor. The local food bank needed food because so many in our community needed food. Yet, the fundraiser was happening at our school, three blocks away from the food bank, and people who needed their food the most were being asked to donate, and unintentionally being pressured into donating. Was this really useful? Was it productive?
Not all campaigns are this futile in nature, or so unfortunately mistaken in their approach. Yet, it is important to remain critical of the fundraisers that we see around McMaster on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Due to the large student population, being pressured into donating isn’t a problem we face. However, we are constantly being asked to give money to causes.
Last week, the annual 5 Days for The Homeless (#5D4H) campaign took place outside of MUSC. The location was perfect, and the amount of money they raised wasn’t so bad either. The campaign started back in 2005 as a local initiative by the University of Alberta School of Business and went national in 2008. It has taking place at McMaster since. A group of Commerce students, members of DeGroote Impact, sleep outside the student centre regardless of the weather (unless it poses a health concern). They can also only consume foods that are donated to them by other people.
For the last few years, the campaign has been praised and criticized, yet it appears as though only the former has landed on the ears of the organizers. There are reasons to praise it. It does make money – money that the shelter (Notre Dame House) and those who use it really need and appreciate.
There are also reasons to criticize it. The first can be found in the campaign’s name. Is “The Homeless” really an appropriate way of referring to people who have faced the challenge of homelessness in their lives? The second is the public simulation of homelessness that takes place right outside our student centre. The participants can never fully understand what it means to be homeless, nor am I saying that they claim they can.
The participants record their reflections and the campaign on the 5 Days online blog. Last Monday, one of them wrote, “I am now reliant on other people and institutions to take basic care of myself and it’s hard to feel like I [can] be independent.”
The fact is that this sentence isn’t true. The participant does still have complete independence if she decided to stop following the rules, yet decided to word things in such a way that implied that she really understood how this feels. And she might, but posting the claim that you can understand how something like being dependent on others and government institutions feels in a matter of one day is harmful.
It is this sort of message being communicated by the participants that’s raising so much criticism from so many people. Although they seem to have grasped the privilege that they hold to some extent, the campaign is failing to raise awareness in an impactful way, or to help educate the McMaster community on the issues they’re spending five days for outside in the cold.
I know the participants have good intentions, and they are probably good people who really do care. No one is saying otherwise. This campaign has garnered so much attention over the years and seeing a great opportunity for raising awareness properly and educating people being wasted is unfortunate.
The money raised from this campaign is really a band-aid solution. If the campaign isn’t pushing for systemic change, educating people, and doing something more than sleeping outside of MUSC to raise money, then I don’t believe that it is living up to its true potential. The goal of the campaign, as with all campaigns that tackle social issues, should be to help create a society where the campaign is no longer needed.
No campaign will ever be perfect and no participant of this campaign will ever be an expert on homelessness. Instead of being defensive and shaming those who criticize this campaign, the participants and their supporters should take the time to think about why the campaign is being criticized. In the discussions I’ve read and participated in about this campaign, it seems that there is a general consensus that there are definitely things to improve on.
The campaign and its participants might have good – even great – intentions, yet this doesn’t act as a shield against criticisms. Good intentions don’t always translate into good actions, and holding on to the belief that the intentions are the be-all end-all of implementing change can be harmful.
When serving others, when doing something with the intention of making someone else’s life easier, it’s not your ego that matters. It’s time the campaign acknowledges the criticisms and invites its critics to have an open discussion about its approach.
Shinerama’s trademark shoe-shining and car-washing services have become increasingly popular, and this year, McMaster students have raised nearly $17,000 above their target for cystic fibrosis research.
McMaster students raised more than $116,500 for the cause leading up to and during Welcome Week, topping their best of $96,000 last year. The Faculty of Science collected more than $23,000, a record achievement for any faculty in the history of McMaster’s campaign.
Other groups that raised over $10,000 - a benchmark set by the Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS) last year - were the Faculty of Health Sciences and SOCS.
The campaign began during the summer and will continue until November.
Fundraising breakdown (estimated):
Science $23,260
Society of Off-campus students $11,600
Health Science $15,260
Commerce $8,500
Nursing $6,260
Social Science $4,770
Humanities $4,640
Arts & Science $4,620
Engineering $4,080
Kinesiology $2,630
Residences $1,000-$2,000
Target: $100,000
Raised (to date this year): $116,500
